Tag Archives: pets

This was the finest Thanksgiving I can remember. I spent it surrounded by my children and several of my best Florida friends. We ate outdoors overlooking pastures of heaven here in Florida. Dogs played, cows mooed, and geese squawked. The conversation was interesting, the food was superb, and the weather was wonderful. It really doesn’t get much better.

I owe it all to animals. Animals have provided so many opportunities for me, that I must give thanks. It is because of animals that I met these great friends and ended up sharing dinner in their company. Thank you for introducing me to these great people and their pets.

I owe my career to animals. It is my privilege to care for them when they are hurt or ill. Through pets, I have met so many wonderful clients and made so many great friends. I’ve seen family pets grow older as the children grew taller. I’ve laughed with clients when new puppies and kittens joined their families. I’ve cried with clients when they had to say their farewells to aged four-legged friends. I’ve taught students from kindergarten to college about proper animal care. And I’ve loved every moment. Thank you for letting me be your veterinarian.

My children learned ethics through animals. My kids learned to feed, groom, and properly care for the many animals that have come and gone in our lives. There have been birds, ferrets, rabbits, chickens, sheep, dogs, cats, bearded dragons, fish, horses, and rats; am I forgetting any? Caring for pets has taught my children about empathy, responsibility, and love. Neither of my sons can say the name of our most beloved dog, “Margaret” without tearing up. We still miss her. Thank you for your love and forgiveness.

We know our lives are richer because of animals. The kids and I have moved from Coast to Coast and back again. But each move was made easier through the companionship of a pet. Dog walking became a new social opportunity. It’s much easier to make new friends with a great dog on the end of the leash to break the social ice. Thank you for making my shy boys new playmates and me new friends wherever we travel.

And because of pets, I get to write this blog. An editor trusts me to occasionally write something worthwhile about animal care and animal health. Life is amazing. Thank you for reading it. If you have any topics you would like me to discuss, please leave a comment to let me know.

Thinking outside the box is generally regarded as a creative and rewarding activity. Unless it is your cat that is thinking outside his/her litter box. Feline litter box issues are the main reason cats either end up living totally outdoors or get surrendered to animal shelters. Best to prevent the problem if you can. If your feline friend has already decided that the litter box is out-of-bounds, here are a few tips that could help return the cat to the proper potty place.

How many litter boxes do you need? Veterinary behaviorists recommend you have one more litter box than you have cats. Yes, if you have three cats, you need four litter boxes! The boxes need not be all the same. Nor do they need to be in the same spot in your house. Some can be covered. Some can be open models. Many cats are fearful of the mechanical (self-cleaning) litter boxes, though, so don’t make this your only option.

What type of litter should you use? That’s simple. Use the type your cat prefers! Sometimes cats don’t like the feel or the smell of certain litters. To each their own. You might need to set up a kitty litter buffet to test which type your cat prefers for duty. You can do this by getting several cardboard soda flats from the store. Place a sample of different litters in each flat. You might try clay, recycled paper, corn cob, sand, some with odor crystals, some without, some pelleted, some clumping, etc. Paws down, your cat will accept the challenge and christen her preference. Not all boxes in the household need to have the same type of litter, however. If you have multiple cats you might offer a variety of litter types.

Where to place the litter box? You might know where you want the box. But your cat could have other ideas. Tucked away in the laundry room seems like the best spot for many households–until the cat is inside the box when the dryer alarm rings or the washer spins off-balance. Once the cat is startled in the privacy of her box, she may never return to that location. So pick some quieter, more private spaces. Next to the cat’s food and water bowl is not a prime choice either. If your cat is older, don’t make him climb the stairs to get to his box. Also get a low-sided box for cats that have arthritis symptoms. If your cat is already soiling the bathroom rug, you will need to put the litter box on top of the rug! Leave it there until the cat reliably uses the box on the rug, then gradually move the box an inch away each day until it is relocated in a more convenient place.

How often should you clean the litter box? Ideally you will scoop every day, each time the box is used. And you will empty the box and scrub it with soap and water at least weekly. Promise. Because if you don’t, you might later regret it. Cats are fastidious about odors and textures. If they need their box and it is already soiled or smells like bleach, they might decide to go elsewhere. Cat box liners are not recommended either. They might make your messy cleaning job easier, but cats typically don’t like the plastic feel in their space.

Remember, it is relatively easy to train dogs. For cats, just do what they want and everyone lives happily ever after.

Next time I’ll discuss what to do about cats that spray or mark objects (like your shoes) with urine. Spraying is a whole different cat problem that is not necessarily related to avoiding the litter box.

Have you ever experienced cat box blues in your household? If so, I’d love to hear about it.

It’s finally the return of the rainy season here in Florida. I love that time of year when you can set your clock by the afternoon thunderstorms. This is the “lightning capital” of the U.S., though. So, every storm brings another anxiety-ridden few hours for some pets. They cower, tremble, hide, and generally feel miserable while their pet owners fret over what to do. And if the cracking of regular thunder boomers isn’t enough to terrify pets, think about what happens around New Year’s Day and the Fourth of July–because the sales of fireworks are not restricted here in Florida. For weeks around those holidays some neighborhoods sound and smell like war zones. Pity the poor noise phobic pets and their owners! These are times when some pets try to escape, and later find themselves checked in to the closest animal shelter, lost and frightened.

What can a pet owner do to help a pet through such noisy events?

If your pet is still young, try to prevent noise phobias from beginning. During the critical first 4 to 6 months, make sure to calmly expose your young pet to loud noises so they won’t be frightened later as an adult.

Train your pet that a crate or a kennel is a safe and comforting place to be anytime–and reward them for going to their assigned dens during loud noises. Reward them in their dens with special treats and toys.

“Jolly” pets through loud events, as you might a young child by playing or distracting them during a stressful time. If your pet experiences a loud event calmly and associates it with comfort, then future noisy events should be less of a problem.

Microchip your pet. Update the microchip registration every year. Also be sure your pet is wearing an ID tag and proper license tag. Proper identification will help get your pet back to you should they make an escape attempt during a stressful event.

If your pet already shows symptoms of noise phobia, employ a good dog trainer to set up a desensitization/counterconditioning program for you and your pet. Such programs might take several weeks or months of practice before achieving good results.

Try a “storm jacket” or “thunder coat” to swaddle your pet during noisy times. “Dog muffs” are also available to help dampen noise for pets.

Ask your veterinarian to prescribe a sedative or tranquilizer to give your pet during very stressful times, such as Independence Day. Certain sedatives help pets relax and focus enough to receive training. Others sedate so heavily the pet becomes sleepy and cannot focus on training. Work with your veterinarian to pick the correct medication for your situation. Your veterinarian will need to do a complete physical exam of your pet before prescribing any medications.

Visiting the very pet-friendly town of Carmel, California is a treat for dog lovers like me. Many of the restaurants have items on the menu just for your dog. Most of the inns allow pets. Dogs are welcome to romp on the beach. Boutiques sell trendy pet supplies. And you can play “Name That Breed” as you stroll the sidewalks downtown people-pet watching.

When I lived near Carmel, I used to like to play with people by walking one of my dogs along the Carmel streets. “Lucy” was small, perky, white, and full of spunk on her leash. To me, she looked like a cross between a Jack Russell Terrier and a Chihuahua. Her paperwork from the Monterey County Animal Shelter from where I adopted her merely said she was impounded as a stray from the town of Greenfield in a more inland part of Monterey County. Whenever asked by curious Carmel pet admirers, “What breed is your dog?” I typically responded, “She is a Greenfield Terrier,” and just kept walking. That answer was probably a bit mean. I imagined those curious people rushing home to their breed identification books searching for more details about “Greenfield Terriers.” Since there are so many different types of Terriers, the “Greenfield Terrier” certainly sounded plausible. However, “Lucy” was just a “Custom Bred” mutt, not a purebred dog.

If I could have cloned “Lucy” the Greenfield Terrier” I bet I could have sold her clones very easily–even if she wasn’t a breed actually recognized by the American Kennel Club. Currently, designer-breeds of dogs are very popular. Each week, I examine new puppies that clients have purchased with breed names such as: Morkie (a cross between a Maltese and a Yorki), or Schnoodle ( a Schnauzer crossed with a Poodle), or Bug ( a Boston Terrier crossed with a Pug), or a Cavashon ( a Cavalier King Charles crossed with a Bichon Frise). The list of possibilities is endless. All of these puppies are adorable. But surely people who pay hefty purchase prices for these custom-bred dogs recognize they are paying for mutts, don’t they?

A purebred dog will be able to reproduce with another dog of the same breed and produce offspring that look like the parents or the grandparents. While not clones, the puppies should all breed true to conformation. Thus two Beagles will produce puppies that look like more Beagles. But two Bugs that mate will produce puppies that look only like second-generation mutts. If you cross a Bug mutt with a Bug mutt, the next generation will not necessarily resemble the earlier generation of Boston or Pug. Designer dogs are not true breeds of dogs, no matter what the selling price. They are just “Custom Bred” for looks and profit.

Irresponsible breeding of dogs for looks and profit can result in heartache for purchasers and suffering for the dogs. Over the past few months I have examined multiple designer puppies with serious health issues. Some of the puppies had treatable problems, such as intestinal infections or tooth problems . But others had serious orthopedic issues, for which the new pet owners were not financially prepared. One puppy had a birth defect in its shoulder joint that resulted in a lame front leg that needed expensive orthopedic surgery. Another puppy became paralyzed at five months of age because its cervical spine was malformed. I was able to temporarily stabilize its neck by fashioning a brace out of a paper cup. But a consultation with a neurologist gave no hope of any long-term recovery, and so the puppy was euthanized. The pet-owner was devastated.

Bottom line: if you want a healthy puppy, adopt from a shelter or buy from a responsible breeder of purebred dogs. Good shelters and good breeders will give you some limited health guarantees and want you to see their facilities. Responsible breeders and shelters do want to make a profit, but they are also interested in maintaining good reputations for quality animals. Irresponsible breeders focus on your money and don’t stand behind the health of the puppies. Such breeders probably won’t let you see their breeding facility or meet the parents. Such lack of transparency should make you question whether the seller is running a puppy-mill that doesn’t humanely care for the dogs.

Recently a reader of this blog asked me to discuss FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis). I am happy to oblige and appreciate the suggestion. If you have topics you would like to learn more about, please let me know in your comments.

(FIP) is a deadly virus that affects mostly young cats and kittens. The FIP virus doesn’t act much like any other virus common to pets. Affected cats don’t survive the infection, although they can linger with symptoms for some time. Unfortunately, there currently are no vaccines that protect against this virus, and there is no exact way to diagnose the infection while the cat is still alive. FIP remains a diagnosis of suspicion until confirmed after death with a necropsy. The cat must be the right age, coming from the right background, and with the right symptoms to be considered possibly infected. It is definitely a frustrating disease for veterinarians to diagnose and for pet owner’s to experience.

FIP is a form of the very common Feline Corona Virus. Almost every kitten is exposed to Corona Virus soon after birth. Corona Virus lives in the GI (gastrointestinal tract) of cats, usually without symptoms and is spread by cat feces. A few cats will have symptoms of mild diarrhea or sneezing, but most cats show no symptoms of Corona Virus at all. Because it is such a common virus, testing a cat for antibodies to corona virus does not verify a diagnosis FIP. Having a blood titer that is positive for Corona Virus simply means that a cat was previously exposed to Corona Virus. A higher titer doesn’t mean a cat
has FIP. It just means the cat might have an active or recent infection of Corona Virus.

For a few cats, the normally mild form of Corona Virus seems to mutate to the deadlier FIP. For these unlucky cats, their own immune system carries the disease throughout their bodies. The virus then affects internal organs in one of two ways. In the “wet” form of the disease, the cat’s chest and/or abdomen begins to slowly fill with a sticky, yellow, fluid. By the time this becomes noticeable, the cat already has difficulty breathing, eating, or moving. Veterinarians can temporarily drain the fluid from body cavities, and testing the fluid can help support a diagnosis of FIP. In the “dry” form of the disease, there are no outward symptoms. The cat slowly deteriorates, and blood work shows multiple organ failures. Biopsies can support the diagnosis. Sadly, FIP is almost always fatal.

Feline Corona Virus seems more likely to mutate to FIP in cats exposed to large numbers of other cats. FIP is more common to cats that once lived in a colony, rescue, shelter, or other facility where many cats mingled. And, research also seems to point to a common genetic link among the affected cats. Only those cats with a genetic susceptibility to the virus that are also exposed to the form of the virus that is more likely to mutate, develop FIP. It happens to a few unlucky cats every year.

For now, there is no way to predict which cats will be affected. The best a pet owner can do to prevent the disease is keep your cat well fed, well vaccinated, and away from other cats. If you must bring a new cat into the home, keep the new cat isolated from your other cats until your veterinarian gives you the OK to let them mingle. FIP isn’t the only disease that cats freely share. So a short quarantine time can prevent many problems when introducing a new cat to the household.

Veterinary scientists are busy working on better diagnostics, treatments, and preventions. Fortunately, FIP is still a rather rare infection. But those unlucky few cat owners who experience the disease are forever scarred.

So who is afraid of FIP? I am. I hate to diagnose it, and I hate that I can’t prevent it.

(Fair Warning: This blog post includes MATH! If you are math phobic, please relax. There is no test at the end!)

My son is learning to cook. After one memorable mistake, he learned the difference between a teaspoon (t) and a tablespoon (T) of salt. That tiny difference in
measurement was very noticeable in the recipe. Thus, he learned that accuracy can avert disasters. I hope he applies that lesson to many other aspects of life.

Accuracy is vitally important for preventing medication errors. You certainly wouldn’t want your veterinarian to make any errors in dosing your pet’s prescriptions. Because it is so easy to transpose a number or misread a prescription, medical professionals have multiple safeguards in place to help prevent dosing errors. Quality control systems include requiring two staff members to approve a prescription, counting pills twice, and completing annual continuing education courses in pharmacy rules and regulations. Safeguards also include training staff to answer the 4R’s before giving medications; 1. Is this the right drug to give? 2. Is this the right patient? 3. Is it the right amount to administer? 4. Is this the right route? Math is very important for dosing medications accurately. Calculating a correct dose of medication requires basic algebra. Multiple times each day I convert pounds (lbs) to kilograms (kg), and then calculate the number of milligrams (mg) or millilitres (ml) required to give an animal based on the strength of the drugs I have available to use.

For example, to give a 15 mg/kg dose of antibiotic to a 50 lbs dog, I use the following formula:

I don’t guess. I do the math each time. No shortcuts allowed. And I usually triple check my calculations because I worry about making an error. After
all, a misplaced decimal point could mean the difference between drawing up 3.4 ml and 0.34 mls in a syringe. Only one dose is correct. The other dose could result in harm. The veterinary oath implores me to “First do no harm.” I take that seriously.

If I go through these gyrations each time I give a dose of medication to your pet, why would a pet owner be willing to take short cuts? It seems like a risky choice.

This week, I learned of just such a risky choice that resulted in a trip to the veterinary emergency room for two pets. It was a penny wise, but prescription foolish choice. The pet owner opted for “do-it-yourself” veterinary medicine to save some bucks. I don’t blame them for trying. Prescriptions are expensive.

This pet owner noticed that the active ingredient in popular prescription heartworm prevention for dogs was also sold over-the-counter in feed stores for use with livestock. The difference was that the dog medication is dosed in micrograms (mcg) and the livestock medication is dosed in milligrams (mg). The difference is a thousand fold. It is the same difference between a thousand dollars or a million dollars—just three little zeros. While the active ingredients in the two medications are the same, the strengths are completely different. The pet owner gave what looked to be a very tiny amount of the cheaper livestock drug to each dog. A few hours later, both dogs began to seizure and nearly died.

This was a disaster that could have been averted by simply checking with a veterinarian first. Perhaps the pet owner should go to my son’s cooking class.
A micro-ounce of prevention is better than mega-bucks spent in the emergency room because of a dosing error.

I’m happy to report that both dogs survived due to the skill of the emergency veterinarian who earned every penny that night. Let livestock take their medicine. And let small animals take their own medicine. Remember, accuracy can avert disasters.

This must be the mantra for the month of May. Most of my recent appointments were for cats and dogs that were literally tearing their hair out and chewing themselves raw. The pets felt miserable, and the pet owners had lost sleep listening to Fluffy or Fido chew, “snarf,” or scratch all night long. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the pet won’t stop scratching and 1 being the pet never scratches, most of these pets were an 8 or above on my ”itchy scale.”

The pet owners come to me to give the family some relief. I can do that! Excuse me for this; but “Who ya gonna call? Me, the Flea Buster!”

Surprisingly, most of these itchy pets are not using regular flea control. The pet owners uniformly report that they never see fleas on their pets. The pet owners think that bathing their pets with flea shampoo, using a flea comb, and keeping the pets indoors most of the time will prevent their pets from getting a bite from a flea. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. This is Florida, where every bug known to man lives, thrives, and mutates to the likes of Godzilla. That includes pesky, lowly, fleas.

You don’t have to see fleas on your pet to have a flea problem. Think about it. When you get bitten by a mosquito, the bug is long gone, but you still itch for days. The same is true for your pets. Most of the flea life cycle is off the pet. The flea jumps on its target, bites long enough to get a blood meal, and then jumps off to lay thousands of eggs in your house or yard. These eggs can lie dormant for months waiting for just the proper moment to hatch and start the life cycle
again. Most bug bombs, sprays, shampoos, and dips only kill the adult fleas, not the eggs or the larvae. Flea combs only help you find the adult fleas that might be on your pet at that moment. Shampoos and dips don’t prevent new fleas from jumping on your pet as soon as soon as he/she dries.

Here, in Florida, if you are not using a good quality, monthly flea-control product on your cat, dog, or ferret your pet will get fleas. If your pet is itchy and you have missed some doses of flea control, then the cause of the itch isn’t an exotic allergy or food sensitivity…it is fleas until proven otherwise.

Consult your veterinarian to help you decide which of the many flea control products on the market are right for your pet. There are topical drops and pills you can give. Some of the products are only available by prescription. Some of the products are available over-the-counter. But check with your veterinarian first, even before using the over-the-counter products. Several popular over-the-counter flea products are deadly for cats!